Paracord as the most versatile survival tool

Is it just me, or is paracord just about the most versatile survival tool there is? There are just SO many incredible ways to weave it to suite your taste, and situation. If you're an avid hiker/camper, you might wear a belt made out of paracord that has 100 feet of cord that you could use for just about anything, hanging wet clothes, fishing line, fishing lures, tie your food up in a tree out of reach of forest critters, replace a broken shoe lace, floss, make a snare trap, etc..



If you're an urban explorer, and come across a free bookshelf that you have to put in the trunk of your car, but now the trunk doesn't close...use your bracelet that contains about 7 feet of cord to tie it shut!  If you're home is on a good amount of acreage and the nearest hospital is an hour away and you slice your leg open on some barbed wire, use your bracelet to tie a tourniquet so you can make it to the hospital!

My point is that no matter what kind of person you are, and no matter where you live or what your lifestyle is, you could benefit from owning and wearing a survival bracelet.

Be safe and be prepared out there, friends!

Little known fact about paracord

Most people that know about paracord and survival bracelets, know the basics about paracord. They know that is is made of 7 inner strands of nylon with a tensile strength of 75 pounds each and the sheath has 25 pounds of strength. They know they can unravel their bracelet to gain a length of useful rope to use in whichever kind of situation they see fit.  And I think everyone knows paracord gets it name from parachute cord, which is where this craze all started in the first place!

What you may not know is that paracord can (and probably will) shrink when it gets wet and dries. Just like clothing. So that bracelet you have that seems to have mysteriously gotten smaller, and you were thinking that you had indulged a bit too much this summer and that is why it fits more snug? It wasn't the beer and brats that did it, it probably just got wet, and you let it air dry. That's ok.

What I would do if your bracelet fit perfectly before you forgot to take it off before jumping in the pool, is find some type of cylindrical shape about the same size as your wrist or the same size as the inner diameter of your bracelet. Slip it over the object (soda/beer can, water bottle, folded and rolled up newspaper? Whatever you can find) Then let it dry completely before removing it and wearing it again.

You can do the same process to stretch it if it's too small. It will stretch naturally with regular use and wear, so be patient if it's a new bracelet. Same deal if it's too big. Get it wet, and let it air dry on a newspaper or something similar so the water won't ruin the surface you placed it on.

Hopefully this helps if you've run into this dilemma. 

Be safe and be prepared out there, friends!

Happy Independence Day! (Tomorrow)

The celebration of our nations independence is just about upon us! One last day to scramble gathering food to grill, drinks to cool you and your friends, side dishes to whip up, and decorate with anything and everything you can find that is red, white and blue. It's a day to remember where we came from as a nation, reflect on how we have progressed (or regressed, depending on your viewpoint) and show our pride as Americans.
Unfortunately, as with most holidays, it is a day to drink excessively, blast music, be rowdy and scorch/blow up the pavement in front of our houses, (I don't know about you, but I've heard fireworks on Christmas day in the past.) This seem to be a perfect concoction for real, painful, life-altering disaster. As most of you know, I like to focus on safety and preparedness, but today, I want to loosen the reins (just a little) and talk about common sense. But before I do, just one more thing: THIS IS IN NO WAY INTENDED TO BE A COMPLETE LIST OF SAFETY REGULATIONS! USE COMMON SENSE AND CONTACT EMERGENCY PROFESSIONALS IN CASE OF EMERGENCY!  Duh!

Prepare to light fireworks:
Keep a large bucket 3/4 of the way full of water to put spent fireworks into so they don't smolder and catch your lawn or someone's car on fire.
Have an oven mit handy or tongs (or something similar to protect your hands from the heat), or metal shovel to pick up the still hot fireworks to quench in the bucket of water.
I'd keep my garden hose hooked up with a sprayer attachment just in case too.
You know what else I'd have on me incase of an accident? A paracord bracelet! They always come in handy!

Lighting the fireworks:
Use a barbecue lighter to light the fireworks. It will put some distance between your fingers and the flame and from the firework.
Don't hold the dang thing unless it is a sparkler!
Don't be a show-off and stand two feet from it. Give yourself 10 or more feet between you and the firework.

These guidelines are assuming you are lighting fireworks that don't leave the ground. If you've made the decision to purchase fireworks that launch into the air, then be prepared to call the fire department if it lands on your roof and catches your house on fire. They're going to be extra busy this week and weekend, so keep that in mind also.

Got pets? Keep them safely shut inside with all doors and windows securely shut. Make sure their tags are current, with your current contact info on them and keep a current picture of them on your cell phone. If they are sensitive to the noise of the fireworks, keep the TV on, turn on a fan or a radio to help drown out the noise. Don't coddle a scared dog. It will tell them that their fears of the noise are well founded and only make the fear worse AND a scared dog may become aggressive. Just act like it doesn't bother you and they will start to become more relaxed as well. Putting your dog in a kennel or crate may not be the safest place either. A frightened dog may try to claw or chew his way out and cut his paws or gums and/or tear nails. My personal recommendation is to give him something to chew on that will last the night so he has something to distract himself.

Here is a link for fireworks displays in the Seattle, Washington area if you prefer to leave the controlled explosion (firework!) displays to the professionals.

Use common sense when celebrating. Don't drink and drive, don't pick up, hold or throw fireworks, be respectful of your neighbors and last but not least...
Be safe and be prepared out there friends!

Survival Bracelet or Fashion Bracelet? Know what you are buying.

As I peruse the internet, I see a LOT of purely decorative paracord weaves out there. Ones that would be extremely difficult to take apart to use in an emergency, and ones that aren't structurally sound.  I don't think a lot of people understand that while these weaves look really cool, they shouldn't be used in an emergency situation. But how can you tell the difference between a structurally sound bracelet and one that is more reliable? How do you know if you are buying a decorative bracelet, or one that has the potential of saving your life, without directly asking the person that made them? 

I have a rule that I follow when I am researching or creating new weaves: NEVER EVER SPLICE! Or more technically, "join".  Joining is when you take one end of cord, and stuff it into the shell or casing of another cord, and burn them together and or stitch or glue them. (See picture below)

Well, why not join? Because once a cord has been joined, say with another color to achieve a neat effect or because you ran out of cord, it becomes extremely weak at that junction. A weak spot like that could wind up killing someone who is relying on it for it's strength. Not that I'm saying it WILL, just that the potential is there.

So when you see an item that has multiple colors, examine it closely to see if you can spot a "join".

Keep in mind that if you see a two tone bracelet, it may not necessarily be joined. There ARE weaves out there that will allow a two tone effect without joining. 

I wish I could tell you an easy way to know for sure if a weave contains a join or a splice, but I can't. You will just have to look for it or simply ASK.

The other thing to be aware of when choosing a paracord bracelet is, how easy can this come apart if I need to tie a tourniquet or secure a load? You really don't want to be unknotting a series of complicated intricate knots while someone's (or your own) life depends on it. I'm a fan of "quick release" weaves. Because they come apart with a pull on one end of the cord (usually), which is much more efficient when you need some cord in a hurry.

The ever popular Cobra weave is NOT a quick release weave! Neither are any of the variations such as the King Cobra, or the Solomon Bar. The Slatt's weave, however, IS a quick release. It also allows a lot of cord to be packed into a tight space.

My point is, know what you are buying. Ask questions. Think about what you want it for: survival or fashion? Keep these questions in mind while shopping!

Be safe and be prepared out there friends!

WINTER PREPAREDNESS

     Today's focus is all about what to pack in your car's trunk for emergency situations over the winter.
Typical items people usually store in their vehicles can include a bag of cat litter or sand in case the vehicle gets stuck on ice and can't move without a little extra traction, a few energy bars (maybe) and possibly some water, an extra jacket and maybe a flashlight. While these things are good to have, you need to think beyond the basics for winter preparedness. We all need water, food and shelter to survive. We know that. It has been drilled into our brains since we were small children.  The following is a guideline of items to keep with you in your vehicle at all times. WATER: Keep more than just an extra bottle of water in your trunk. Buy a gallon of water (or 2!) from the grocery store instead of filling an empty milk jug for the sole purpose of preventing a spill in the trunk. If you're not a fan of buying water, feel free to fill old milk jugs, just be sure to thoroughly wash and rinse them out because you don't want to make yourself sick. When re-capping the lid, put a folded piece of paper towel over the lid followed by some plastic wrap with a rubber band twisted tightly over it to prevent leakage in case the jug tips over. FOOD: Being the child of a man that was in the military, I started keeping a small box of MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) in my trunk since I started driving. If you don't have access to MREs, pack non perishable ready-to-eat food that are high in calories. Make sure to have enough for all the people riding with you for a couple days. Think about how many calories each person needs per day and multiply that by 2.  Check the expiration or best by dates on everything consumable every couple months, because you don't want to have rotten or spoiled or stale food that you can't eat taking up valuable space. Replace items as needed. Also keep a pocket knife in the kit as well if you need to open packages of food.  If you typically run around with more people than just your self, be sure to pack enough water, food, blankets or jackets for everyone. But when packing your emergency kit for the winter, be sure to remember some of the smaller, less thought about things, such as a couple of large empty coffee containers and a roll of toilet paper. Why coffee containers? Because it might just be TOO cold to step out of your broken down car and relieve yourself on the side of a desolate road without risking frost bite to sensitive areas! WARMTH: Head to your local thrift store and pick up a few jackets that are warm in sizes to fit everyone, a good idea would be to buy them a size or two larger than your travel buddies wear now, because you might put on a few pounds over the winter or you need the extra room if you are already wearing layers, and... kids grow! Also keep a FULL change of clothes in case yours get wet. You want to avoid hypothermia by changing wet clothes immediately. I like to keep a sleeping bag that unzips all the way to use as a blanket that will cover more than just one person. Also pick up a package of those Hot Hands too because those things are like heaven when your hands are freezing despite the gloves you are wearing after changing a blown tire in a blizzard! You can put them in your boots, in your back or front pockets, in your gloves, etc. LIGHT: keep a flash light and extra batteries (check shelf life of these too!) if your flash light even takes batteries. You can get those hand crank flash lights that charge as you crank, but they don't last all that long on one round of cranking, or they even make self charging flash lights with cell phone chargers!
    So we have our basic necessities covered, food, water, shelter (your vehicle), relieving yourself and warmth. Now we need to think about your vehicle.  A collapsible shovel and bag of kitty litter (it can often be cheaper than sand) for getting un-stuck on ice or packed snow, Tow straps for getting pulled out of ditches, Jumper or Booster cables for a dead battery, I like my "jump box" it has booster cables with a switch to turn to complete the connection so you don't accidentally get electrocuted, a flash light, an air compressor, a wall and car charger, a tire pressure gauge and a battery meter. It's pretty much everything you could need. You should also keep a tire patch kit (they come with everything you need to fix a small hole in your tire for around $3), an extra quart of oil, extra pre-diluted anti-freeze, de-icing windshield wiper fluid, transmission fluid (if your vehicle is an automatic) and brake fluid. Pretty much keep extras of any type of fluid your vehicles needs to run properly. Keep tire chains that fit your tire size exactly! Don't think "close enough" when it comes to tire chains, if you buy the wrong size, it could cause a blow out! Don't forget about an extra ice scraper. The one you use daily could break or you could lose it.
     Last but not least, buy a good complete first aid kit! One that includes trauma care, such as large bandages that can go around the torso and burn care. If a serious injury occurs, and help is too far away or can't be reached, you need to step up to the plate and do everything you can to help the injured person. Make sure to check around for free classes that teach you CPR, how to stop bleeding, how to care for a broken bone, etc. Because the key to survival is preparedness!

Be safe and be prepared out there friends!

What IS paracord?

We realize that not everyone knows what paracord is. Maybe some of you have and idea of what it is or have heard the term "paracord" or even "550 cord". "Paracord is short for parachute cord. "550 cord" is the same thing by another name. It is called these things because it is the rope that is used for the suspension lines when parachuting, and has a breaking strength of 550lbs. It was available for civilian use after WWII. This versatile cord was even used by astronauts during STS-82, the second Space Shuttle mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope. 

It's most common civilian use today is in the making of "survival" or "paracord" bracelets. When woven in a number of different ways, these bracelets can come apart so that the wearer has a length of cord ranging from a few feet to dozens of feet available for use during an emergency or any situation where one may need rope.

Some of the uses for paracord are attaching equipment to harnesses, as dummy cords to avoid losing small or important items, tying rucksacks to vehicle racks, securing camoflage nets to trees or vehicles, and so forth. When threaded with beads, paracord may be used as a pace counter to estimate ground covered by foot. The yarns of the core (commonly referred to as "the guts") can also be removed when finer string is needed, for instance as sewing thread to repair gear, or to be used as fishing line in a survival situation. The nylon sheath is often used alone, the yarn in the core removed, when a thinner or less elastic cord is needed such as when used as a boot lace,  assisting with water rescues, controlling bleeding with a tourniquet, etc.. Ends of the cord are almost always melted and crimped to prevent fraying.

So if this sounds like something that you really should have stashed in your vehicle, emergency kit, or backpack or even just to wear around everyday "just in case" please feel free to email us to purchase one or a few of these great innovations!


The sheath of this commercial parachute cord 
is braided from 32 strands and the core made
 up of seven two-ply yarns. The scale is in inches.







*References and picture taken from wikipedia

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